Scottish Executive

Blind and Partially Sighted People

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what rehabilitation services are provided (a) nationally and (b) in each local authority area for those who are registered blind.

Euan Robson: Rehabilitation services for those who are registered blind are not provided nationally. The following table shows the employment of qualified rehabilitation workers in each local authority area in Scotland. In addition, nine rehabilitation workers are employed by the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association and are allocated to local areas on a project basis.

  Employment of Qualified Workers

  

 Local Authority
 Total


 City of Glasgow
 6


 City of Edinburgh
 4


 Fife
 4


 North Lanarkshire
 3


 South Lanarkshire
 2


 Aberdeenshire
 1


 City of Aberdeen
 1


 Highland
 3


 Renfrewshire
 3


 City of Dundee
 2


 Dumfries and Galloway
 1


 West Lothian
 1


 Falkirk
 1


 North Ayrshire
 2


 Perth and Kinross
 1


 East Ayrshire
 2


 South Ayrshire
 1


 Angus
 1


 East Dunbartonshire
 0


 Scottish Borders
 1


 West Dumbarton
 1.5


 Inverclyde
 1


 Argyll and Bute
 0


 East Renfrewshire
 1


 Moray
 0


 East Lothian
 1


 Stirling
 0


 Midlothian
 1


 Clackmannan
 0


 Western Isles
 0


 Shetland
 0


 Orkney
 1



  Source: Guide Dogs for the Blind Association.

Council Tax

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking, or plans to take, to improve the rate of collection of council tax.

Mr Andy Kerr: Responsibility for billing and collecting council tax rests with local authorities. Council tax in-year collection rates have improved year on year since 1998-99. In recent years, the Scottish Executive has introduced legislation to allow the advancement of the instalment scheme to April rather than May and have allowed councils to combine reminder and final notices to allow recovery procedures to begin earlier. These were recommendations which came out of the joint COSLA/Scottish Executive working group report "It Pays to Pay" published in December 1999.

Equal Opportunities

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) its and (b) its agencies policies are in respect of recruiting employees over 60 and whether such policies are consistent with other policies in regard to age discrimination.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive and its agencies are bound by the rules of the Civil Service Commissioners Code on Recruitment against which we are audited. The Code exists to ensure that recruitment to the Civil Service is fair and open, and is conducted in a non-discriminatory manner.

  The retirement practice age for all Scottish Executive staff is 60 years and, in line with this, applications for employment are not normally considered from candidates over 60. This policy is currently under review.

  In line with the Executive’s equal opportunities policy, we do not discriminate on grounds of age. It is also our aim to become an organisation that broadly reflects the people of Scotland in all aspects of diversity, including age, and, to this end, we are currently reviewing our Diversity Strategy to ensure that continues to support this aim.

Finance

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of any current reviews taking place of funding formulae that influence the level of funding distributed to local and regional authorities for the delivery of public services and when such reviews will be completed and implemented.

Mr Andy Kerr: A working group comprising representatives of the Executive, COSLA and the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) is working to develop a robust needs-based formula for allocating police grant aided expenditure between their forces. Their final report is expected in the spring.

  A similar process will commence on the allocation of resources to Fire Authorities in consultation with COSLA, Chief and Assistant Chief Fire Officers Association (CACFOA) early in 2004.

Health

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients over 65 are currently being treated for dementia and how much treatment per patient costs in each NHS board and what the reasons are for any differences.

Malcolm Chisholm: Data on expenditure and numbers treated by disease type in each NHS board are not held centrally.

Health

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-4968 by Malcolm Chisholm on 19 January 2004, what services will be funded by the National Services Division from 1 April 2004.

Malcolm Chisholm: All of the services listed in the answer given to question S2W-4968 will continue to be funded by National Services Division from 1 April 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Higher Education

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council has reduced its grant to the Open University in Scotland for this year and, if so, by how much.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (SHEFC) has increased its grant to the Open University in Scotland in the current year.

  In 2003-04, the Open University in Scotland received £14,687,000 from SHEFC, compared to a grant of £14,235,000 in 2002-03.

Mediation Services

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has spent on alternative dispute resolution and other mediation services in each of the last four years, broken down by department.

Cathy Jamieson: Information is not available in the format requested.

  There are a variety of alternative dispute resolution processes, including direct negotiation, arbitration, mediation and conciliation, and the use of Ombudsmen and regulators. The Executive has recently legislated to establish a new Scottish Public Sector Ombudsman, providing a "one stop shop" in place of several previous bodies.

  Other recent initiatives by the Executive in this area include:

  SE funding for family Mediation Scotland (c. £700,000 per annum);

  SE funding for the Edinburgh In-Court Advice and Mediation Service (£22,000 p.a.). The Executive is currently considering whether to extend funding for mediation, possibly through further pilots;

  Changes to Sheriff Court Rules in Glasgow to allow sheriffs to refer commercial actions for alternative dispute resolution where appropriate;

  SE Procurement Directorate has issued guidance for contractors endorsing the use of alternative dispute resolution in Scotland;

  Justice Department is currently updating a booklet containing general information about resolving disputes without going to court, and officials are in discussion with the Scottish Mediation Network to examine how best the Executive can support the further development of mediation services and encourage greater use of alternative dispute resolution generally;

  A working group has been set up by Health Department to look at the use of mediation in clinical negligence cases;

  The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Bill will require local authorities to establish mediation services to help to avoid or resolve disagreements between the authority and parents.

Mental Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-5135 by Malcolm Chisholm on 20 January 2004, whether the collection of data in respect of psychological intervention or other non-drug therapies will become standard and, if so, when the introduction of collection of such data will be implemented across NHS boards.

Malcolm Chisholm: It is our intention that routine clinical information collection, to support improved clinical care, will in future include data on delivery of psychological and other non-drug therapies and work is in hand. However, this is a complex area and it is not possible at this stage, therefore, to say when data collection can be standardised.

NHS Funding

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what disadvantages there would be to the adoption in Scotland of the local improvement finance trust model used by the NHS in England.

Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-4961 on 26 January 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

National Lottery Funding

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much lottery funding was allocated in each of the last three years, broken down by (a) local authority area and (b) parliamentary constituency and expressed also on a per capita basis.

Mr Frank McAveety: The distribution of National Lottery funds is a matter for the Lottery Distribution Bodies: Scottish Arts Council, Scottish Screen,  sportscotland, New Opportunities Fund, Community Fund, Heritage Lottery Fund and Millennium Commission. The information requested is not held centrally by the Executive.

  The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) maintains an electronic database of National Lottery awards. Details of the total awarded to each constituency area and each local authority area for each Lottery good cause can be obtained through the DCMS website at: http://www.lottery.culture.gov.uk/search.asp.

Post Office

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance it is giving to local urban post offices.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

  The Executive began accepting applications for its £2 million fund to develop post offices in deprived urban areas from March 2003. Post offices (located in Scotland and classified by Post Office Ltd as urban Post Office branches (i.e. located in settlements with a population of 10,000 or more) and in the 20% most deprived post code sectors based on the 1998, 2003 and 2004 indices of deprivation) can apply for grant of up to £50,000.00 to improve the viability of their business by improving the layout of the premises or helping to provide new or extended retail activities; or improving security so as to deter violent and other crime. Further information on the fund, along with details of the application process, can be obtained from Communities Scotland.

Prison Service

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what performance points were accrued by the operating company of HM Prison Kilmarnock, broken down for each heading and subsection in Schedule F to the Minute of Agreement between the Secretary of State for Scotland and Kilmarnock Prison Services Limited for the Design, Construction, Management and Financing of a Prison at Kilmarnock, for the quarter July to September 2003.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  

  2.1(g)
 Discovery within Prison of Smuggled-in-Items
 175


 2.1( i)
 Failure of Security Procedures
 200


 2.2(a)
 Staff Assault - Serious Injury
 0


  - Minor Injury
 0


  - No Injury
  15


 2.2(b)
 Prisoner Assault - Serious Injury
 0


  - Minor Injury
  20


  - No Injury
  70


 2.2(c)
 Incident of Concerted Indiscipline
 100


 2.2(d)
 Incident of Hostage Taking
  10


 2.2(f)
 Incident of Self-Harm
  15


 2.2(g)
 Incident of Class 'A' Drugs
 450


 2.2(h)
 Incident of Drugs Other than Class 'A'
  85


 2.2(l) 
 Tool/Implement Loss (Recovered)
  2


 2.2(m)
 Tool/Implement Loss (Not Recovered)
  8


 2.5(b)
 Visits - Failure to Start within 20 Minutes 
  of Visitor arriving
  2

Public Bodies

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether public sector staff who have a mobility clause in their contract are entitled to a redundancy payment if they decline to relocate along with their organisation.

Mr Andy Kerr: This is dependent upon the circumstances of each relocation. The entitlement of any individual employee to a redundancy payment will depend on the terms and conditions of service that apply contractually to that individual. In some circumstances, the custom and practice in the particular organisation may also be relevant.

Regulation of Care

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-1744 by Hugh Henry on 19 August 2003, what the responsibilities of the registered care or nursing home manager are in determining the pipe size and water hydrant pressure requirements in care and nursing homes.

Malcolm Chisholm: Care services registered with the Care Commission under the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 (the Act) are required by statute to use only premises which are fit to be used for the provision of such a service. This would include taking into account any fire safety requirements. Responsibilities under the act rest with the care service provider, who may or may not also be the manager.

Renewable Energy

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Her Majesty's Government and other stakeholders in respect of developing the use of marine energy.

Lewis Macdonald: The Forum for Renewable Energy Development in Scotland (FREDS), which comprises senior stakeholders from Government, academia, the industry and enterprise networks, has established a sub-group tasked with developing an action plan for the development of marine energy in Scotland. The report of this sub-group will be presented to FREDS later this year. A representative of Renewables UK attends FREDS as an observer on behalf of the Department for Trade and Industry.

Renewable Energy

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it is supporting research into the development of marine energy technology.

Lewis Macdonald: We have contributed over £2 million towards the capital cost of the European Marine Energy Centre off Orkney, due to begin operating by April this year. The Centre will play a vital role in the testing and accreditation of wave energy devices. We are also providing, through Scottish Enterprise, £150 million over 10 years to the new energy Intermediary Technology Institute which will significantly improve the opportunities to bring new renewables technologies, including of course marine technologies, to market.

Renewable Energy

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the creation of an Energy Intermediary Technology Institute in Aberdeen will have on the development of marine energy technology.

Lewis Macdonald: I expect the Energy Intermediary Technology Institute (EITI) to focus strongly on areas such as marine energy where Scotland, with indigenous developers leading the field, has a potential competitive advantage. The EITI will support the development of marine and other energy technologies by fostering increased contact between the academic and business sectors in Scotland.

Scottish Enterprise

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much enterprise network funding was allocated through Scottish Enterprise to each of its constituent bodies in each of the last three years, expressed also on a per capita basis.

Mr Jim Wallace: This is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise.

Scottish Executive Procurement

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is appropriate for any organisation involved in drawing up tenders for Executive or local authority work also to be eligible for bidding for such work.

Mr Andy Kerr: Procurement decisions by local authorities are a matter for the individual authority concerned. Where an organisation is employed to assist with the preparation of a tender, it would not be normal practice for that organisation to be invited to submit a bid, as there might be a real, or perceived, risk that such involvement could undermine the impartiality of the procurement process or distort competition. It is normal procurement practice to avoid situations where conflicts of interest may arise.

  However, there may be exceptional or unusual circumstances which result in a contracting authority seeking specialised input to a Specification from an organisation which is subsequently invited to tender. In such circumstances, there is an increased onus on the contracting authority to ensure that any advice does not have such an affect on the Specification as to favour any particular bidder or group of bidders.

Scottish Executive Procurement

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are in place to ensure that its departments buy recycled paper.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Executive is committed to the use of recycled paper. In 2002-03 92% of general office paper was produced from recycled materials. We aim to increase the use of recycled paper for general use to 95% by March 2005.

  The Executive’s supply contract assumes that recycled paper will be purchased and exceptions require authorisation.

Social Services

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-4604 by Mrs Mary Mulligan on 12 December 2003, whether it will publish the guidance used by its Health Department’s Directorate of Service Policy and Planning to assess the funding application made by the Seagull Trust in 2002.

Mr Tom McCabe: The section 10(1) grant scheme aims to assist voluntary organisations in developing social work services and promoting social welfare. Both revenue and capital grants may be provided. Revenue grants are available as both core funding and project grants.

  Priorities for service development in community care are:

  to sustain, promote and develop person-centred services for people in need, and for their families/carers, and to encourage collaboration and joint working amongst agencies and organisations to improve service delivery and representation, and to promote good physical and mental health and wellbeing. Adult client groups include homeless people, older people, people with a physical disability, people with mental health difficulties, people with learning disabilities, people with drug/alcohol difficulties, people with HIV/Aids, and carers.

  Key priorities are:

  services which can help and support people to live independently in the community, and improve their quality of life;

  respite care and other support for carers;

  opportunities designed to promote the participation of users and carers in care management as well as planning, development and delivery of services;

  advice, counselling and information services;

  alcohol, solvent and drug misuse services aimed at harm reduction and rehabilitation; and

  work with homeless people.

Social Work

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what arrangements it has made to review whether current monitoring provides sufficient information about the quantity and quality of services for young people on supervision.

Cathy Jamieson: Performance monitoring reports of services for children on supervision are published regularly by Audit Scotland, Social Work Services Inspectorate’s Annual Reports, Scottish Children’s Reporters Administration’s Annual Report and the Scottish Executive on:

  http://www.childrens-hearings.co.uk/youthjustice.asp.

  We look to local authorities and other agencies to improve and deliver on current performance. We meet regularly with these agencies, for example with the Children’s Hearings Representative Group and the Time Intervals Refocus Group to review their progress and to identify both priorities for further improvements and where the Executive can provide support, in addition to the extra resources we have put into the children’s hearings system.

Sport

Dennis Canavan (Falkirk West) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a report on the implementation of the National Strategy for Sport in Scotland, Sport 21 2003-2007, detailing the progress made in each of the 11 target areas identified in the strategy; whether the targets will be met by 2007, and whether sufficient resources will be made available to ensure that the targets are met.

Mr Frank McAveety: The implementation process is being co-ordinated by  sportscotland. Six implementation Groups comprising partners with a key role and interest in the achievement of the Sport 21 targets have been set up to prepare a series of action plans. A report on the development of the action plans will be put to the Sport 21 Implementation Forum at its next meeting scheduled for 1 March.

Tourism

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it, or any organisation acting on its behalf, will take to promote (a) Scotland and (b) the new direct air links to Scotland at the Swedish International Travel and Tourism Fair in March 2004, and what funding will be allocated for this purpose.

Mr Frank McAveety: VisitScotland will attend the Swedish International Travel and Tourism Fair to be held in Gothenburg in March. This will coincide with the new SAS Snowflake services from Scotland to Sweden commencing in March, while Ryanair already fly from Prestwick to Gothenburg. VisitScotland have been talking to the Highlands of Scotland Tourist Board, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and SAS Snowflake about how best to promote these links between Scotland and Sweden at the Fair.

  The introduction of direct air links to Sweden over the past year has raised the priority given to Sweden by VisitScotland as a target market. Promotional activity in Sweden is being increased accordingly; for example, VisitScotland will run a spring campaign in Sweden for the first time this year.

Town Centres

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what funds it has allocated to North Lanarkshire Council for the upgrade of Motherwell town centre and what guidelines it has issued to the council in respect of how the money may be spent.

Mr Andy Kerr: North Lanarkshire Council receives general allocations of capital spending consent and Quality of Life Funding. However it is for the council to decide how it allocates its funding, taking account of local needs and priorities.

Travellers

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish a response to the Equal Opportunities Committee’s (EOC) Inquiry into Gypsy Travellers and Public Sector Policies, published on 21 June 2001.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Executive’s initial response to the EOC Inquiry recommendations was published in October 2001 and is available to view on the Executive website. An updated response is in the final stages of drafting and should be with the committee later this year.

UK Legislation

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2O-999 by Lewis Macdonald on 18 December 2003, what the timescale will be for a Sewel motion on the UK Energy Bill.

Lewis Macdonald: The Sewel motion and memorandum was considered by the Enterprise and Culture Committee on Tuesday 27 January.

Unemployment

Miss Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the most recent unemployment figures are for the west of Scotland, broken down by local authority area.

Mr Jim Wallace: The residence based claimant count unemployment level and rate for local authorities which are situated in the west of Scotland are shown in the following table for December 2003.

  

 Local Authority
 Unemployment 
  level

 Rate


 Argyll and Bute
 1,551
 3.2%


 Dumfries and Galloway
 2,238
 2.7%


 East Ayrshire
 3,303
 5.0%


 East Dunbartonshire
 1,172
 1.9%


 East Renfrewshire
 964
 2.3%


 Eilean Siar
 663
 3.8%


 Glasgow City
 16,530
 5.6%


 Inverclyde
 2,429
 5.1%


 North Ayrshire
 4,049
 5.8%


 Renfrewshire
 3,525
 3.7%


 South Ayrshire
 2,442
 4.2%


 West Dunbartonshire
 2,502
 5.0%


 South Lanarkshire
 5,092
 3.3%


 North Lanarkshire
 6,698
 4.0%



  The residence based claimant count unemployment level and rate for the electoral region of the West of Scotland is shown in the following table for December 2003.

  

 Electoral Region
 Unemployment 
  level
 Rate


 West of Scotland
 12,790
 3.7%

Unemployment

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether 16 and 17-year-olds are guaranteed training if they have been unemployed for six months.

Lewis Macdonald: 16 and 17 year olds across the UK who are not in full-time education or employment are guaranteed a suitable offer of training. The guarantee is delivered in Scotland by Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise as a key element of the Skillseekers programme, funded by the Scottish Executive. To access this guarantee, young people must be registered with Careers Scotland.

Wind Farms

Miss Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to make a decision with regard to the proposed wind farm at Corlic Hill, Gryffe Valley.

Lewis Macdonald: We expect to be able to make a decision in March 2004. In reaching a determination on applications for consent under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989, ministers can grant consent, with or without conditions; withhold consent or refer the matter to a public local inquiry. In cases where the relevant planning authority has objected to the proposal, and that objection is not withdrawn or cannot be met by condition or changes to the development, ministers are required to call a public local inquiry.

Wind Farms

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is in respect of the construction of wind farms on Forestry Commission land.

Allan Wilson: Our planning policy guidance is given in National Planning Policy Guideline 6: Renewable Energy Developments. Forestry Commission Scotland serves as the Executive’s forestry department. The corporate plan for the Forestry Commission in Scotland recognises that "Every effort is being made to increase the value and income from leases of many kinds, and from developments such as windfarms, mineral sites and telecommunication masts, for which the national forests can often provide a suitable location." In this way the national forest lands make a considerable contribution to the Executive’s targets for increasing the proportion of power generated from renewable sources.

  All proposals are developed with full public consultation, and detailed plans for careful forest restructuring. The usual planning consents and environmental impact assessments are required and environmental, economic and social issues are taken fully into account.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Scottish Nordic Council

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer what recent discussions have been held with the Nordic Council on behalf of the Parliament; what plans it has to meet the council in 2004, and whether it has any plans to enter into discussions with the council regarding full or associated membership of the council.

Mr Andrew Welsh (on behalf of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body): The Parliament has recently been involved in discussions with the Nordic Council through its membership of the British-Irish Inter-parliamentary Body (BIIPB). The BIIPB will produce a report shortly on its links with the Nordic Council. MSPs and officials from the Scottish Parliament have participated in, and contributed to, the production of the forthcoming report. Most recently, in December 2003, this has involved members visiting Norway to take forward issues in the draft report.

  At present, there are no firm plans to meet with the Nordic Council in 2004. However, it is expected that there will be productive exchanges with countries, regions and institutions from the Nordic/Baltic zone over the course of the year, e.g. SPCB staff are currently working with Nordic parliament secretariats and Scottish universities to exchange views on committee practice. It is probable that there will be further contact with the Nordic Council this year, but there are no plans at present to enter into discussions with the Nordic Council on gaining full or associated membership, nor has the Nordic Council proposed that we do so.